2023-2024 Concert Season
Welcome to the 67th season of the Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra! As the Chorale continues to grow and expand, we have decided to do something we have never done before, by taking an entire year to focus on one composer: Felix Mendelssohn.
Mendelssohn was launched into prominence at a young age, as a gifted composer and conductor. While he lived a tragically short life, the scope of his compositions and the thematic material contained within them was quite varied, leaving one unable to fully grasp the substance of his work and beliefs with a single piece of music. With two full concerts, we examine how the young composer positioned himself in the lineage of German composers such as Bach and Beethoven, while simultaneously reconciling his Jewish roots with his conversion to Christianity in the early 1800s.
Please join us for this expanded, inside look at one of the pillars of classical music, with concerts both throughout the state of Rhode Island and in Worcester, Massachusetts, for our final collaboration.
Joshua W. Rohde
Music Director
Mendelssohn: Elijah
Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 7 pm
Cathedral of St. Peter & Paul, Providence, RI
Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 3 pm
First Baptist Church, Worcester, MA
The season closes with one of the greatest works in the repertoire: Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. Recognizable for its powerful drama, a vengeful queen, and chariot of fire, Mendelssohn also takes care in this work to warmly share intimate moments of the Prophet Elijah. We see not only a man of profound faith and strength but one who struggled with loneliness and weariness when not in the public light. For this monumental work, RICCO is collaborating with singers and instrumentalists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute for an intergenerational performance of students, amateurs, and professionals that will combine for a total of 200 choristers, an orchestra of 60, and multiple soloists. The message of perseverance and hope amid despair, balanced with the overwhelming adrenaline of so many musicians, will make this an event not to miss.
